1 worker dead, 1 injured in fall from roof at Vikings stadium

A construction worker died after falling 50 feet off the roof and into a snow gutter on the new Minnesota Vikings stadium in Minneapolis on Wednesday, the Star Tribune reports.

A second man was also injured and remains in serious condition at a local hospital, however, how he got hurt is unclear, according to Mortenson Construction, the general contractor for the project. Both workers were treated at the scene and taken to a nearby medical center in Minneapolis, Mortenson Construction vice president John Wood told the Star-Tribune. “Today is an extremely sad day for the Minnesota Vikings organization and the entire stadium team,” the Minnesota Vikings said in a statement. “Our sincere thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends of the individual who passed away, the worker who remains hospitalized, and the more than 1,000 dedicated construction workers who are on the site every day and are also affected by this accident.” The Vikings’ stadium is currently under construction and expected to be completed for the 2016 NFL preseason. Last year, the Audubon Society complained over the type of glass chosen to construct some of the stadium’s walls and the roof, noting it was potentially dangerous to birds. Wood said investigators were still determining what kind of work the two men were doing, whether they were wearing harnesses or other safety gear at the time, or whether such equipment was required where the men were working. Operations were suspended for the day, leaving huge cranes standing idle over the site of the former Metrodome on the eastern edge of downtown Minneapolis.

And while the project faces tight deadlines so the stadium can open in time for the Vikings preseason in August 2016, he said that wasn’t his concern now.